As a young deer hunter on opener morning one year in the late 1980s, I was out scouting the landscape as day broke in south central North Dakota. It wasn’t so much to watch for deer moving around as it was to just scan the field and let my imagination paint scenarios of where the deer would break out of cover, who would push, and which guys would post...

The question is frequently asked by hunters and frequently answered throughout this book, “Where do the big bucks go?” It can’t be repeated too often that the mature bucks are solitary creatures that regularly practice evasion techniques, even outside the hunting season. When hunting season rolls around...

Whitetail deer breed only in the late fall and early winter and the breeding season is called the rut. To use canine terminology, does come in heat in fall; this is called a doe’s estrous period. During this time, the doe is receptive to breeding and the solitary bucks actively seek does. Each doe is in heat for about thirty hours. If she has not mated with a buck during that time...

Tree stands are popular among hunters -- especially among archery enthusiasts -- because they help improve the hunters’ visibility and decrease the chance their scent will spook prey. But the stands also can be precarious perches if they’re used incorrectly or carelessly, hunting safety specialists say...

Deer season is no longer months away. For some the countdown to the opener is now measured in days, or even hours by those who categorize an approaching deer season in the same light as ringing in the New Year. One of the first things to accomplish...

Forget the remaining ducks and geese, step aside roosters and turkeys. It's deer season. Officially the regular gun season runs Nov. 9 through Nov. 25, but make no mistake, deer season takes center stage until the tags are filled and garages are transformed into makeshift processing plants.

Between the hash marks of the season, there'll be many questions that arise. Here's a quick rundown of the more common inquiries that come into Game and Fish Department offices across the state...

For those of us who like to spend as much time as possible on the outside of the window, October is a sort of early Christmas present. Hunting seasons for just about everything are open, and fall fishing can be just as hot as summer, but without humidity and mosquitoes...

For the majority of hunters, the close of the regular deer gun season, followed by the calendar change from November to December, pretty much seals the fate of fall. While the past couple of weeks, I wrote about the many opportunities still available, the transition is inevitable. And it's not only hunters who are switching their focus...

North Dakota's deer gun season doesn't begin until Nov. 7, and applications aren't even due until June 4. So why I'm a thinking about deer already?

Over there, an older man, whiling away the afternoon weeding his garden. He’s retired, now, and has time on his hands. He thinks he might go fishing this evening...